Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo (née Lindquist) represents that person inside all of us, who just can't seem to hold it together. She is lovable because of her chaotic life, her struggles, and, most important, her ability to be honest about them. It is as though she took a new job she thought she would love, and now she desperately misses her old one. It's not that she doesn't love her children, but like many woman, she doesn't love being a stay-at-home mother. It doesn't help that her children are impossible to handle. But Lynette is so driven that she tries to apply the same go-getter methods she used at work. Worse, Tom seems to have no idea how harried she is. He's oblivious to her plight, and his cluelessness only fuels her frustration. The career woman who once had it all begins to unravel, realizing she's not cut out for the life she leads. 'Biography' Lynette Scavo was once best known as a savvy career woman. In the work force she was an over-achiever who could accomplish any task, but those days came to an end when she and her husband, Tom, decided to have children. She gave up the working world and within six years had twin boys who are in an local collage, a teenaged boy old son and a preteen girl and newborn baby girl. Soon, she gained a new reputation as the mother of quite possibly the most unruly children ever born. 'Personality' Lynette is a very smart and strong individual. She goes to great lengths to protect her family from danger and themselves. She is also very controlling, being the oldest of her siblings. She believes it is her duty to be in charge. Lynette always believes she is right, and goes to great lengths to proove this, although she does occasionally admit she is wrong but it is her deep and undying love for her family that defines her as a person. 'Character History' 'Early Life' Lynette is the eldest of three daughters. After the death of their father, their mother Stella married Glenn Wingfield. After a short time, Glenn left his family. Lynette blamed her mother for driving him away for a long time. She graduated from Northwestern University and met Tom when they worked together in the Advertising field. They married and moved to Wisteria Lane when they discovered she was expecting their eldest children, Porter Scavo & Preston Scavo. A year later, she had Parker Scavo and five years later, Penny. Lynette has the most children on Wisteria Lane, and is always willing to do what is best for her family. 'Season One' Lynette is near to breaking point - stuck at home alone with four kids. Her husband is always away on business trips or at work. Lynette struggled to cope with her four children until Preston and Porter were prescribed medication for ADD (attention deficet disorder). Lynette decided not to medicate them and started taking the medication herself so she could make the costumes for a school play. Realizing she was addicted, Lynette managed to stop taking the pills after she and Tom hired a nanny. Unfortunately she didn't stay long as she caught Tom's eye a little too much. Her problems got worse when Tom told her that he was offered a lucrative promotion that would take him away from home more often, which he refused to discuss with her, so she made sure that his boss didn't offer him the promotion. When Tom found out what Lynette had done, he quit his job, and in the season finale informs her that she will be going back to work. 'Season Two' Lynette got a job at an advertising agency and much of the season, Lynette dealt with obstacles at work and dealing with her colleagues. Stu is a bumbling secretary at the agency and is kind to Lynette, often doing her favours or helping her in tough situations. Nina is the co-worker from hell; bitchy, self-centered, and neurotic. She causes Lynette many problems and stresses her out with work. Ed, the boss is the seemingly cool guy, but his faults lead Lynette to have to fire Tom when he gets hired at the agency. Lynette also testifies for Bree when she is accused of child abuse but made Bree realise that she has a problem with alcohol. At the end of the season, Lynette thinks Tom is cheating on her but discovers Tom has just met his daughter, Kayla Huntington. She is the result of a one night stand Tom had with her mother, Nora Huntington. Nora uses the back child support from Tom to move her and Kayla to Fairview so Kayla can get to know her father, stepmother and half-siblings. 'Season Three' Lynette has trouble adjusting to having Nora and Kayla around her and her family but does her best. Lynette learns that Nora wants Tom back so she warns her to keep her distance. Nora decides to move away and take Kayla so Lynette and Tom go for custody. However, plans changed when Nora and Lynette were held at gunpoint by Carolyn Bigsby. Learning that Nora had made a pass at Lynette's husband, Carolyn killed her. Lynette promised her, before she died, that she would look after Kayla. Mad that Kayla had lost her mother, she told Carolyn that she deserved to be cheated on. Carolyn went on to shoot Lynette, hitting her in the arm. Lynette and Kayla struggle to get on as Kayla blamed Lynette for her mother's death. Tom, jobless, followed his life-long dream to open a pizzeria and Lynette went to work with him but their relationship hit a problem when Tom was confined to bed with a back injury. Lynette struggled to cope with Tom, five children and the pizzeria so she hired a manager, Rick. Soon, Lynette realised she had feelings for Rick and spent time alone with him after the restaurant closed every night. Tom thought Rick and Lynette were having an affair and demanded Rick quit his job but he refused to go. Rick told Lynette he had feelings for her so she fired him. Following a row with Tom when he accidentally knocked Lynette onto the floor from their bed, they went to hospital where a CAT scan revealed swollen lymph nodes. In the season finale, Lynette told her sister Lucy that she has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and asks if Lucy can lend them some money. Lucy is sympathetic but unable to help as her husband has just lost his job. Tom borrows the money from Lynette's mother, Stella Wingfield - much to her chagrin. Stella then told Lynette that she is moving in so she can help while Lynette fights the cancer. 'Season Four' Thanks to the cancer, Lynette now wears wigs but has kept her illness a secret. She didn't want people feeling sorry for her but eventually confesses. Her friends are shocked that she felt unable to confide in them but eventually she gets the all clear. Lynette asks Stella to leave after she gave her brownies laced with marijuana. She asked her sisters to take Stella but they refused. Upset at their attitude, Lynette asks Stella to stay with her, but Stella refused and left. Lynette later discovered that Glen left because he was gay. Upon discovering this, Lynette reveals that she would have forgiven her mother and that she appreciates all the time they've spent together. Stella, not wanting to ruin that, decides not to return and moves in with Glen. A short time later, a tornado warning was declared for Fairview, and Lynette persuaded her neighbor, Mrs. McCluskey, to let her family shelter in her basement. Ida Greenberg is riding out the storm with them in the basement, too. Lynette and Karen went out into the storm to find Ida's cat, but are caught in it and hide in Lynette's bathtub. After the tornado, Lynette and Mrs. McCluskey find Mrs. McCluskey's house in ruins. Lynette's family is safe, though. Ida died, giving her life in fact, so Lynette's family would survive. Lynette, is touched by Ida's selflessness. Kayla then begins to act out towards Lynette, to the point where Lynette slaps her for threatening Penny. Kayla's evil streak continues and she burns herself with a curling iron. She blamed Lynette, who is later arrested. While in prison, she told Tom what Kayla was doing so he confronted Kayla, placing his cell phone on the table, with the doctor on the other end. Kayla confesses to them that she lied so Tom sends her to live with her grandparents. Tom is upset that he had to send her away, but, in time, he and Lynette reconcile. 'The Missing Years' During the five-year jump at the end of Season Four, Tom and Lynette are still running the pizzeria and having trouble raising the twins, now teenagers. Tom is having a mid-life crisis and often sides with his sons, frustrating Lynette. 'Season Five' Tom starts an all guy band with Dave Williams, Orson Hodge, Carlos Solis and Mike Delfino, much to Lynette's annoyance. Lynette and Tom discover that Porter is having an affair with Anne Schilling, a much older married woman. Anne tells Porter that she is having his baby and they plan to run away together. Lynette confronts Anne about her affair with Porter and her abusive husband, Warren, overhears them. He asks Lynette to leave and is beating Anne up but Lynette returns. Later that day, Tom and his band have a gig at Warren Schilling's nightclub. Porter confronts Warren and Warren punches him but Lynette intervenes again. She sends Porter home and confronts Warren herself about "hitting women and children". Warren locks the door and as the band play, a fire starts. Everyone's trapped but they escape through a window and Warren blames Porter for the fire. He is later arrested but released on bail and Lynette pays Anne to leave town alone. Lynette tells Anne to contact her or Tom when the baby is born and Anne reveals that there is no baby. After Warren threatens to kill him, Porter jumps bail. Tom and Lynette plan for Preston to pose as Porter in court. After it is discovered that he is hiding out at his grandmother's nursing home, Porter returns and the charges are dropped. Unfortunately lawyer bills, and the money used to pay Anne has left the Scavos broke, forcing Tom to sell the pizzeria. Lynette returns to the workforce, working for Carlos Solis at his investment firm. In the finale, Lynette starts feeling ill and fears that the cancer has returned. She learns however that she's pregnant with (another) set of twins. 'Season Six' In her first trimester, Lynette is depressed about the prospect of having twins so late in life. She admits to her husband Tom that she doesn't love her unborn children in the way she loved her other kids at this stage. Lynette talks to an upset Susan, who says that she would give up everything to get just one more day as Julie's mom. This convinces Lynette to keep going on with her pregnancy, and so she announces it to her children in the third episode. Problems arise at work when she must keep her pregnancy secret from her boss Carlos in order to protect a promotion. This entails explaining away her increased bust by leading Carlos to believe she has had breast implants. Gabrielle soon discovers the truth however, and tells Carlos, who's angered at how Lynette kept this secret. He offers her a "promotion" to a new office in Florida which she refuses. She sues Carlos, angering both him and Gabrielle. Carlos gives Lynette a huge amount of work to do in one night and Lynette chooses to attend her daughter's Christmas pageant. She shows up at work still unfinished and Carlos uses the inability to complete a task as grounds to fire her. Lynette and Gaby's friendship is strained after Lynette files a lawsuit against Carlos' company. Gaby then becomes very cold towards Lynette and it appears their friendship is over. However, when a plane crashes on Wisteria Lane, Lynette is the one who saves Celia from being killed. Carlos tells Lynette that the Solis family owes Lynette everything. In the aftermath of the accident, Lynette has pain in her stomach and realizes something is the matter with the babies. After a close examination with a doctor, it is discovered that one of the twins has a lack of blood flow in his body. Surgery is needed to repair the problem and while unconscious, Lynette dreams of life with a disabled child and the everyday struggles. When she awakens, she is told by Tom that they lost that baby, but the other one was fine. Lynette then breaks down in tears and cries for the lost baby. When Gaby comes to thank Lynette for saving Celia and to say she was sorry, Lynette reveals that the baby was supposed to be named Patrick. She does not talk about Patrick's death for nearly a month until Tom reminds her it's OK to let it out and Tom thought she might want to stay with their daughter after she is born. When he learns that Bob and Lee are seeing a counselor, Tom suggests going to one with Lynette, but she insists therapy is for "losers". Tom starts seeing a therapist on his own and keeping a "feelings" journal, which he will not let Lynette read. Angrily, she visits the therapist, Dr. Graham, to defend herself from what she's sure is Tom's badmouthing. She admits she gets mad when she is not in control. When Dr. Graham equates this to the lack of control Lynette felt in losing her baby, Lynette reluctantly sits down on the couch. Later, when Tom returns from work, Lynette informs him they will be going to therapy together. Tom is very happy with the progress being made at the therapy sessions with Dr. Graham, but Lynette feels she is being ganged up on. They argue about whether to continue going. When they see Dr. Graham give a terrible performance in a local play, after her mentioning what a gift she has for acting, they can no longer take her seriously. Later in the season, Preston returns from Europe and brings with him a Russian women named Irina, who Lynette believes is a gold digger. Lynette investigates Irina's past and finds that Irina is a gold digger and a prostitute but is killed by the Fairview Strangler. She invites Eddie to live with her and her family after she sees him being treated badly by his mom, but is unaware that he is the Fairview Strangler. Eddie attacks Porter after he disrespects Lynette. She tells him that that can never happen again and teaches him a breathing technique she learned as a teenager. Tom comes home and after having a bad flight, is angry with Lynette that there is no dinner. Eddie starts the breathing technique and Lynette kisses Tom to prove that everything is okay so Eddie doesn't attack him. Later, Tom and Lynette talk and they agree that Eddie needs therapy. The therapist tells Lynette that Eddie has a lot of issues and it would help if his mother came to therapy. Lynette goes to Eddie's house and doesn't get an answer. When she is about to leave, a neighbour tells her that Barbara hasn't been seen for days and her car is still there, setting off Lynette's suspicions about Eddie. Then when she learns that Irina was killed, she overhears at the police station that they have found Eddie's mother's body. When she goes to tell him, she catches him in his lies and finds herself trapped in Eddie's home. With her life at Eddie's mercy, Lynette goes into labour. Lynette gives birth to her daughter with the help of Eddie (who saves the baby's life). Eddie attempts to make a run for it, but Lynette begs him to turn himself in - Telling him that if she was his mom, she would be so proud. Eddie tearfully asks Lynette to do it for him. Lynette agrees, letting him hold the baby while she dials 911. A former nurse from the maternity ward at Fairview hospital, named Terresa Pruitt, is admitted as a patient. In flashback scenes she is shown working during the births of Susan, Gabrielle and Lynette's children (although it is not known which children she cared for). Terresa admits to a visiting priest that she didn't retire from the hospital; she quit because of guilt. He offers to take her confession, but she tells him that she does not want what she is about to say to remain private, as it must be put right. The priest then proceeds to a hospital directors office. Terresa has passed away, but not before telling him her secret. The director calls in lawyers, one of whom states that he knows the family affected by the secret, they live on Wisteria Lane. He then worries how he will be able to tell the family that the child they have been raising isn't their own. The child might be Porter, Preston, Parker or Penny. Season Seven Felicity Huffman will be returning this season as Lynette, as will Tom (Doug Savant), Porter (Charlie Carver) and Parker (Joshua Logan Moore). Kendall Applegate, however, will not be returning as Penny, so she will be recast. Max Carver has not yet been confirmed as a season seven character, so he may not be returning as Preston. It should be noted that, along with Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria Parker, this is Felicity's last contracted season. They must renew their contracts if they plan to star in an eighth season. One of the storylines this season will be that one of the children on Wisteria Lane is with the wrong family. This was revealed by Teresa Pruitt in 'I Guess This Is Goodbye' (6.23). It is possible that the child is Parker or Penny, as Teresa Pruitt was one of the nurses that helped Lynette give birth. The child will probably not be Porter or Parker as they are twins. 'Other appearances' Relationship with other characters With Eli Scruggs : Once Bree, Gabrielle, Susan and Lynette meet up for poker and to discuss Eli's funeral, they start thinking through flashbacks how much he affected their lives. Lynette's daughter Penny shows up at Gabrielle's house, asking for her mother. Lynette recalls how when she was pregnant with Penny she planned on going back to work as soon as Penny is born. She finally realizes she is putting too much importance on getting her career back on track when she is distracted on the phone and leaves Penny in a hot car outside. Eli retrieves Penny and Lynette is moved to tears, disgusted with herself for putting work above caring for her daughter. With Edie Britt : After Edie's death, Lynette recalls the time when everyone was driving her to chemo and states that none of them did it like Edie. It is Katherine's turn to drive her, but Edie tells her that she will drive her. Edie takes a detour to a bar and tries to get Lynette to have tequila shots. Edie tells Lynette that she is the strongest person she knows and tells her she needs to start fighting the cancer. Edie constantly reminds Lynette that the tequila shots were what cured the cancer. With Robin Gallagher : Lynette, who is in the middle of celebrating her wedding anniversary with Tom, grows angry when she learns her son Parker is spying on Robin while she showers next door. Lynette rudely confronts Robin, who tells Lynette that Parker offered her money to have sex with him. Later, Parker tells his parents he is the only one of his friends who have not had sex. Tom assures him it will happen when the time is right, and Lynette apologizes to Robin. With Eddie Orlofsky : Eddie is playing charades with the Scavos when his mother comes over, demanding to know where he hid her booze. "I don't think you should talk to your son like that," she tells Barbara. Lynette tells Tom, "We know something bad is happening, but we do nothing. I'm tired of being one of the people who does nothing," she says. Tom suggests Eddie's old enough to strike out on his own, but Lynette thinks he's "too damaged." 'If ...' Lynette imagines a future with a physically disabled son. In this vision, she is seen to be constantly overwhelmed by the demanding pressures of raising a disabled child with whom her and Tom have christened as "Patrick Scavo." She nearly suffers a breakdown when she struggles with administering physical therapy exercises on a constantly crying baby Patrick but is eventually calmed down by her husband with a few encouraging words. When Patrick is about 10 years old, Lynette's patience begins to run thin under the pressure of raising Patrick once again when the boy asks for his mother to make him a sandwich. The two then argue to each other with regards to the amount of work that each one has to accomplish in order to get through the day: Lynette with the housework and Patrick's mandatory use of a forearm crutch for mobility. Lynette then ignores her son in pure guilt as he attempts to make his own sandwich for the very first time. He successfully accomplishes the task as the two of them silently thank each other with light smirks. Patrick is last seen in his 20's during his graduation ceremony from Law School as valedictorian, presenting a speech to all participants about how much his mother had helped him overcome his disability and become the man that he was destined to be. Trivia *Lynette's four children were originally planned to be called Paul, Preston, Patsy and Phillip instead of Porter, Preston, Parker and Penny. *In Episode Two of Desperate Housewives, Penny's name is written as Daisy on Mike's whiteboard. *Lynette mentioned in season 1, that she and her sisters were hit by her mother; this possibly indicates that she was abused as a child. *Lynette's Birthday is October 27th Scavo, Lynette